Home
by prycel
Summary: When Felicity's father is injured in a bank robbery, Oliver accompanies Felicity home to investigate. What will happen when a romance starts to bloom and The Hood finds himself against one of his greatest foes? Olicity! Rated T for possible violence.
1. Chapter 1

Felicity awoke to the sound of yelling and loud, thumping noises. She sat up, groaning, and rubbed her head. She had fallen asleep at her computer. . . again. Verdant was obviously open. The music was thunderous. Her watch read 4:05 AM. She wondered how long she had been asleep. Judging by the deep marks on her cheek from the keyboard, she had been out for a while. There was some event going on at the club that Oliver had been required to attend. Diggle had a date with Carly. And Felicity, well, she chose to work on her night off. She squinted at her computer screen. Why couldn't she see properly? Oh yea, glasses. She squinted around the room and found them laying next to her chair. She put them on and turned back to the screen.  
She had been working on a program that would track all 213 names in Mr. Queen's book. It had been more complicated than she thought it would be because there were so many of them. She had coded the program to alert her whenever a person on the list appeared in the news or when they made a cash-withdrawal from their account, as well as alert her if they get on a bus, train, or airplane. And sure enough, an alert had popped up, blinking red on her screen.  
A news article read "Judge Simon Rowlend finds suspected murderer not guilty. Rowlend was judge to the Nick Tirler case. As you may recall, Tirler was the lead suspect in the murder of seven innocent civilians at a bank robbery last August. Witnesses placed him at the scene. When police showed up, the suspect apparently panicked, killing seven hostages. However, due to evidence being obtained illegally, Rowlend found him not guilty, and Tirler was released from prison last night. His employer, Starling International, released the following press statement early yesterday: 'Mr. Tirler simply was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He was indeed at the bank, but was a hostage, not a criminal. He is an innocent man who belongs home with his wife and children." Mr. Tirler currently is a gemologist at Starling International. Detectives on the case initially thought he had been trying to steal an extremely rare red diamonds, which costs roughly 2.5 million dollars per carat. The Starling City Police currently have no other suspects."  
Felicity read the whole article and then quickly searched for Simon Rowlends whereabouts. Rowlend was in a taxi with Nick Tirler. Felicity checked the taxi's end target and was not surprised to see they were heading to Starling International. It would take them a hour to get there, with traffic on a Friday night, so Oliver had a hour to hood-up and get downtown. If he made it in time, Oliver would be able find out what really is going on involving Starling International. She grabbed her phone and called Oliver. It rang once, twice, and three times before Oliver's voicemail came on. She dialed Diggle, who answered on the first ring.  
"Diggle."  
"Hey Dig. Sorry to interrupt your date night, but I have a lead and I cannot get ahold of Oliver. Do you know where he might be?"  
"Did you check the club?"  
Felicity mentally smacked herself for not thinking of that sooner.  
Diggle continued, "If he isn't in the club, ask Tommy if he's seen him. I'm on my way to meet you."  
"No! We don't need you!" Felicity yelled into the phone, and then immediately regretted it. "I mean, we need you. . . obviously. You are a very valuable member of our team, like the most valuable." She took a deep breath and tried to remember her main point. "I just mean, you never have time with Carly. This is just a recon mission. Just for some information. So I'm going to stop babbling and hang up the phone before you have time to argue. If you show up here, I will kick your very muscular ass. OK goodbye."  
"Fel-"  
Felicity slammed the phone shut before she could hear what Diggle was about to say. She quickly grabbed her heels that were laying next to her desk and put them on. She walked over to the mirror, wiped the smudged lipstick off her face, and quickly reapplied it. She definitely was not wearing club clothes, but she had to go find Oliver.  
She searched the club for 10 minutes before finding Tommy.  
"Tommy!" She screamed over the music.  
He turned around to face her, a surprised look on his face. "Sorry, do I know you?"  
"No, I work for Mr. Queen. I have some information for him that he requested. Do you know where he is?" Her voice was getting hoarse from all the screaming.  
"He's not here! He went back to the mansion."  
Before Felicity could ask any more questions, another club-goer needed his attention.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the front doors of the Queen mansion opened in front of Felicity, she was startled to see several guest occupying the front room. And she was severely underdressed. She nervously flattened her her skirt down, and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind her ears.  
A woman wearing a gold dress and a necklace that cost more than Felicity makes in a year walked up to greet her.  
"Hello, I'm Moira Queen. Are you a guest of…" she trailed off, looking Felicity up and down.  
"Hello Mrs. Queen. I'm just looking for Oliver-we're work buddies."  
As if he heard them, Oliver walked up looking quite handsome in a dark navy suit with khaki pants.  
"Oliver, we were just talking about you!" exclaimed Mrs. Queen, straightening Oliver's tie.  
"My ears were ringing" Oliver joked. "Felicity, would you like to accompany me upstairs?"  
Felicity nodded and followed Oliver up the grand stairs. He led her through a complex maze of hallways before opening a door that led to, what Felicity assumed, was Oliver's bedroom.  
"What are you doing here, Felicity?" Oliver asked once the door was shut.  
"Wow, it is good to see you to Oliver." She said, mimicking Oliver's tone. "Simon Rowlend, who is on the list, is meeting with murderer Nick Tirler, and they are heading to Starling International. I just thought that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to listen in on what went down that day he robbed the bank."  
Oliver looked thoughtful, and then moved to his bed. He reached under and pulled out an old wooden box with mysterious markings on it.  
"You'll drive." He said, and mentioned towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

"Um… ok. You should know that I haven't really cleaned my car in a while." Felicity said as she approached her car. Oliver stopped dead in his tracks as he caught sight of the vehicle.  
"You drive a Smart Car?" he said, clearly unsettled by the size. "Um, Felicity, I'm definitely not going to fit in that thing."  
"It's roomier than it looks!" Felicity said cheerfully, and she quickly opened the door for Oliver and grabbed a few wrappers off the seat.  
It only took them five minutes to get to Starling International. Felicity had to admit that seeing Oliver crammed, quite uncomfortably from the look of it, into her little smart car was very amusing. Without his suit, Oliver planned to climb the fire escape of the opposite building and launch a bugged arrow onto the window of Crowley's office. Afterwards, Oliver and Felicity had to stay within 100 yards of the arrow in order to hear properly. She found a small parking space directly under the fire escape and Oliver climbed through the sunroof and leaped onto the fire escape.  
A couple minutes later, Felicity let out a scream with something large landed on top of her car. Oliver stuck his head in.  
"Felicity! It's just me."  
"Oh, right. . . " she trailed off, as Oliver's nicely rounded buttocks followed his legs into the car. She quickly averted her eyes as Oliver slid into his seat.  
"Ok, all we have to do is pull up the live stream." Felicity hid her blush by reaching into the backseat to grab her laptop. She turned it on and pulled up the listening device. They could hear a man's voice talking in hushed tones, possibly on the phone. They heard a knock on the door and a voice telling them to come in.  
"Ahh, Mr. Tirler and the honorable Judge Rowland!" A voice boomed. Felicity assumed that was Steve Crowley, CEO of Starling International.  
"Honorable? Good one Steve," said, presumably, Rowland.  
"With all this bad luck lately, it seems a drink would be in order. Here, have a glass of scotch."  
"Thank you Mr. Crowley. For the scotch and for everything you've done for me." said Tirler, presumably.  
"I assure you, Mr. Tirler, all of this was not for you." said Crowley coldly.  
Before Oliver or Felicity could act, they heard a gun shot. Felicity jumped and covered her mouth and Oliver swore loudly. Felicity went to close the computer, but Oliver stopped her.  
"We have to hear what they are planning next." he said, his voice barely above a whisper. Felicity nodded, but replaced her hand back over her mouth. She could hear Crowley saying something.  
"They've moved the package to a small bank in a little town outside Coast City for safety. I'm sure the fools believe we won't suspect such a small bank. We already have a man in position. I should be getting a call anytime now that will assure us of his success."  
"What's the towns name?" Rowland asked.  
"Bloomville Bank. They only have six security guards, three extra since the diamond has been placed there."  
Felicity froze, all the color rushing from her face. She barely heard Crowley say that he would be flying down to Bloomville the following morning. Oliver closed the laptop and started saying something. Felicity didn't hear a word. She couldn't breath, or move for that matter. She was paralyzed with fear. She felt two strong hands grip her shoulders and start to shake her.  
"Felicity! FELICITY!" Oliver was yelling.  
Felicity snapped out of her trance, but her body still shook, even when Oliver removed his hands.  
"My father is a security guard at Bloomfield Bank," Felicity whispered, her voice shaking along with her body.  
Oliver put his hand on her shoulder.  
"Felicity, don't jump to conclusions. We don't know anything yet."  
"They just shot a man, Oliver!" Felicity's voice rang out in hysteria. "In cold blood! My father. . . they wouldn't hesitate to. . ." the word "kill" got stuck in her throat. Regardless of how hard she tried, she couldn't say it.  
Oliver got out of the car and walked around to Feliicty's side. He opened the door and grabbed Felicity's arm.  
"I'm going to drive you home. I need you to tell me where you live" he said as he pulled her out of the car.  
"As if you don't already know" Felicity said, sarcastically. Oliver was glad-sarcasm was a sure sign that she was calming down. "Corner of First and Manhattan," Felicity continued once she was in the passenger seat.

Once they had reached Felicity's apartment, Oliver had followed her up two flights of stairs before she pulled her keys out of her purse.  
Oliver quite liked her apartment. It was bright and colorful, just like Felicity. There was an incredibly small kitchen, one bedroom, and a living room/office space. Wires, computers and tablets were scattered around the living room. Felicity ran over to her desk and pressed a button on her answering machine.  
"No messages" the deep mechanical voice said. Felicity sighed and checked her phone for the tenth time.  
"Felicity, sit." Oliver walked to the kitchen, found a glass and filled it with water. He took her cell phone from her and replaced it with water. "There is no sense calling your mom and worrying her. She'll call you if she knows anything."  
"It's just my dad and my brother." Felicity said quietly. "My mom left when I was young. My brother works in Coast City, but lives with my dad since he had a heart attack last year."  
Oliver sat down next to her, unsure of what to say.  
Felicity drank her water, set it down on the table, and laid down across the couch, her legs bent close to her. After twenty minutes, Felicity had fallen in an uneasy sleep, Oliver found a blanket to the side of the couch. He tucked it around her, like he used to do with Thea when she was little, and sat down at the kitchen counter, staring at the cell phone.  
Two hours later, the phone rang. Oliver jumped awake and glanced at Felicity. She was still sleeping. He opened the phone and clicked answer.  
"Hello?" he said, unsure if it was right of him to answer Felicity's phone.  
"Hello, this is Bloomville Hospital calling for a Felicity Smoak."  
"Yes, this is her. . . friend. She's just sleeping, but I can take the call."  
"Ms. Smoak's brother asked me to call. We have her father here at the hospital in critical condition. He sustained a GSW to the left side of his chest. It missed the heart, but severed an artery. We would recommend that Ms. Smoak get down here as soon as possible."  
"Yes, thank you. She'll fly out this morning."  
Oliver hung up and had barely placed the phone back on the counter when it rang again. This time Feliicty began to stir, but it was on its fourth ring, so Oliver answered it as Felicity sat up.  
"Hello?"  
"Who is this?" A voice demanded.  
"Who's this?" Oliver demanded back.  
"I'm Felicity's brother. Who the hell is this?"  
"Oh sorry Felicity's brother! This is Felicity's friend. She's just waking up." Oliver and Felicity cringed at his choice of words. Without a doubt, Felicity's brother would now assume that something was going on between the two. Why else would he be there at 5:00 in the morning. Felicity felt the heat rise to her cheeks as she thought about something going on between the two of them. _As if Oliver Queen would ever be with a girl like me. I mean, look at his track record. First the beautiful Laurel, then the gorgeous, psychotic Helena, and finally McKenna, who was simply stunning. Me, on the other hand, I don't stand a chance._ Felicity shook these thoughts out of her head quickly.  
"Give me the phone." Felicity demanded, holding her hand out. There was no way to hide the obvious blush that had arisen on her face.  
"Sam?"  
"Felicity! I'm so glad I got ahold of you. Did the hospital call you yet?" Felicity felt relief wash over her body as she heard her brothers voice.  
"No, the hospital never calle-" she stopped talking as Oliver motioned that they had, in fact, called. "I mean, yes, they did call. I guess Oliver took the call because i was sleeping."  
There was silence on the other line.  
"And Oliver is. . . ?" Sam trailed off.  
"My friend, he needed a place to crash last night. Sam, what's going on? Is dad okay?"  
She heard Sam sigh. "No, Filly, he's not okay. He was shot on the job."  
Felicity let out a sharp breath and quickly sat down.  
"Oh my god, Sam! What are the doctors saying?"  
"They say you should get here ASAP. It's pretty touch and go. Felicity, I. . . I don't think I can handle this on my own." Felicity felt tears form in her eyes as her brothers voice cracked.  
"I'll be there tomorrow. It's a quick flight, like an hour and a half and I'll check when the next flight is."  
"Ok. Update me as soon as you know. I love you, Filly." Sam said, quietly.  
"I love you too. See you soon."  
Felicity snapped the phone shut and looked at Oliver. She opened her mouth to speak, but Oliver spoke first.  
"You can borrow the family jet. It can leave in an hour."  
Felicity was speechless. Could she accept such a lavish gift from the Queens? It didn't feel right. But, then again, she had never heard her brother so scared. She felt a tightness in her chest and, agains Felicity's wishes, a few tears fell from her eyes. Finanly, when she was kinda in control of her emotions, she simply said, "Thanks, Oliver." She placed her hand over his, and felt him tense under the touch. She waited a second before pulling her hand back.  
Oliver cleared his throat. "Oh, and one more thing. I'm coming with you."


	3. Chapter 3

Oliver was right. Within an hour, Felicity and Oliver had boarded the plane and were on their way to Coast City. Oliver had explained to Felicity that he needed to track Crowley and the thief. Diggle would be joining them the next day. Felicity nor Oliver had spoken a word since lift off 40 minutes ago.  
Felicity had to admit, the plane was beautiful. There was about a dozen seats made with premium leather. The carpet was a plush tan color and there was a bar at the front. The second they boarded the plane, Oliver had made himself a double and sat down. Felicity asked the hostess for a hot tea and sat across from Oliver.  
Felicity only had one thought in flashing in her head, on repeat. Please, let him live. She didn't' know what she would do if her father was . . . killed. She had been on the verge of tears ever since she hung up with Sam. But Oliver had been next to her the whole time, and she didn't want to break down in front of him.  
She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked around for something to distract her. She looked at Oliver and was surprised to see he had his eyes closed tightly and his hands were clenched in tight fists on his lap. She noticed that his glass was empty.  
"Oliver, are you okay?"  
"Yup." All that was flashing through Oliver's head was images from the boat sinking, being tortured, and Sarah's and his father's death over and over again.  
Felicity quickly realized what was going on.  
"Oh man. This is your first time on a plane or anything going over sea since the accident! I totally spaced. We're just going over a little sea, just along the coast. Don't worry-flying is the safest way to travel. Statistically, more people are killed by donkeys than air plane crashes. Like, there is a 1 in 4.7 million chance this plane will crash. I don't think you have anything to worry about. I mean, come on, you can handle being beat up to a pulp and shot, but not an little flying?"  
Oliver opened his eyes and glared at her. After a couple seconds, he said "Donkeys? How are people killed by donkeys?"  
For the next half hour, Felicity went on to explain every way a person could be killed by donkeys. For a while, both Oliver and Felicity forgot their worries.  
As the pilot prepared for landing, Oliver once again gripped the arms of the chair tightly. Felicity saw his knuckles turning white.  
"Thanks for distracting me, Felicity." he said through gritted teeth.  
"Sure, any time. And Oliver? Thanks for coming with me."  
Oliver looked at her and raised an eyebrow.  
"I'm here for Crowley."  
"Oh, right." Felicity turned and buckled her self back in her seat. But both her and Oliver knew he was definitely not just there for Crowley.

They landed safely and Oliver stood and gathered Felicity's and his bags. Oliver had called ahead and ordered a car for them, a 2013 Jeep Wrangler. Felicity drove them straight to the hospital. She knew these roads like the back of her hand. She found a parking spot and ran into the hospital, Oliver right behind her. After talking to the receptionist, they took the elevator up two flights and searched for room 341.  
Felicity stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her father lying on the bed, tubes and wires sticking out all over. Tears formed in her eyes and this time she couldn't stop them from spilling down her face. She slowly walked towards her father, unaware that Oliver was right behind her. She came to a stop in front of her fathers bed. The tears started flowing more consistently now.  
Before Oliver knew what he was doing, he walked into the room and grabbed Felicity's hand and gave it a good squeeze. Felicity turned to look at him, and Oliver was surprised to see how hard she was crying. Before Oliver knew what was happening, Felicity had pulled him in for a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and felt her tears seeping through his t-shirt.  
"I'm promise I'm going to get the man who did this, Felicity. I promise." Oliver said. He could hear Felicity's crying slow down.  
"Sorry I ruined your shirt." She said, but her grip on Oliver was still strong.  
"Don't worry. I'm a Queen remember? I have hundreds of these." Felicity finally pulled away and looked Oliver in the eye.  
"You should know that they aren't that flattering. They kinda make you look like you have man-boobs." Felicity said, drying her tears with the back of her hand. Oliver simply raised an eyebrow.  
Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Oliver turned to see a tall, fit, dark blond-haired man standing in the doorway holding a coffee and a newspaper.  
"Filly?!"  
"Sam!"  
The two siblings ran towards each other and Sam enveloped Felicity into hug. As they pulled apart, Sam turned his eyes to Oliver.  
"And you're the man who answered the phone this morning?"  
Oliver put on his best Queen smile and held out his hand.  
"Yea, Oliver Queen. Felicity was just letting me crash on her couch for the night."  
Sam reluctantly shook his hand with eyebrows raised.  
"Oliver Queen? As in lost-at-sea-for-5-years Oliver Queen?"  
"Guilty as charged." Oliver said. Felicity could still see that fake "playboy" smile plastered on Oliver's face. "Well, I'll let you two catch up. I'll just go check into my hotel." and do some research, Oliver thought.  
"Hotel? Nonsense! You can stay with Filly and I! We have an extra room at the house! Felicity has never brought a boyfriend home before."  
"We're not dating!" Felicity basically screamed. Both Sam and Oliver turned to look at her, eyebrows raised. "I just mean, he just happened to have a client in Bloomville this weekend and offered me a ride- on his big, fancy jet and paid for my airfare and-" Oliver had been giving Felicity his "stop talking" glare, so she shut up. Sam turned his attention back to Oliver. Clearly, he was used to his sister's outbursts.  
"Oh well, boyfriend or not, you should stay with us! Great! It's decided."  
"Awesome." Felicity said once Sam turned his attention to their father. " So here's a house key and I'll text you an address. Just to let you know, the 'extra room' is the couch, unless you want to share a bed with me. . . which, you obviously don't. I mean, Oliver Queen and me in bed together" Felicity snorted, then caught herself. "Ok, sorry, babbling is over. I'm gonna stop talking."  
Oliver just looked at her with a smile on his face. Felicity was now picturing her and Oliver in the same bed and a deep blush had arisen on her face.  
"Thanks, Felicity." Oliver said, snapping her back to the present. "I'm probably going to go take care of that business meeting now." He said loudly, hoping Sam would over here.  
"Right, good luck at your business meeting. Kick his-I mean, I hope Queen Industries gets what they want."  
"Oh, I'm sure they will." Oliver said under his breath, so that only Felicity could hear.  
Oliver thanked Sam and went to left the room to go to his "business meeting". He actually just wanted to give his bow-and-arrow a good workout, preferably on Crowley.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Sorry it took me so long to upload! But here's chapter 4. I'll try to update ASAP! Meanwhile, please continue to review! Thanks! xx**

On his way out of the hospital, Oliver stopped at the nurse's desk. He quickly grabbed the attention of a small blond.

"How can I help you Mr. . . "

"Queen." Oliver flashed his smile.

"I thought I recognized you! You're the millionaire, right?"

"Billionaire." Oliver corrected, leaning in towards the nurse, who had a dazed look on her face. " You are so. . . lovely." _Wow_, Oliver thought, _I am really rusty at this._ "I am so glad I came over to say hello."

Oliver was pleased to see a blush work its way onto the nurse's cheeks. His plan was working.

"Hey, quick question." he said, making eye contact with her. "My friend was injured in the bank robbery."

"Oh no!" the nurse exclaimed. Oliver thought that he may have used too much charm.

"Yes, it's just a terrible ordeal. Was there anything odd about the shooting, any pattern you might have noticed?"

The nurse looked confused. "Why?"

"Just curiosity. My friend wanted to know."

"Well, now that you mention it, I did overhear the police saying that there were eight shots, two per security guard. The shots severed each of the coronary arteries, severing the heart's blood supply. I've never seen such a perfect shot. Mr. Smoak was the first one the paramedics found, and the only one alive. It seems the shooter was interrupted or something, because Mr. Smoak was only shot once, and it was off target. Still, it's lucky he is alive."

Oliver thanked the nurse and went to leave, and he definitely noticed a look of great disappointment on her face. But Oliver didn't care, because he had just figured out who the shooter was.

Oliver drove to the Smoak's house quickly. He was eager to unpack and track the shooter. He felt anger and adrenaline surge through his veins. For some reason, his thoughts ventured towards what Felicity had said earlier, and he found himself wondering if it would be so bad if he and Felicity were to date. He always like Felicity- there was something about her he couldn't quite put his finger on. He liked her endless babbling, the cute way her nose crinkled when she laughed, and the way she could calm him down in any situation, her bright nail polish, her kindness, generosity. . . She was definitely not afraid to challenge him, and that was something he very much respected, no mater how often it drove him crazy. He quickly pushed these thoughts out of his head. Felicity and him? Disastrous. Never gonna happen. But still . . . Oliver forced himself to focus back on reality and pulled into Felicity's neighborhood.

It was a small neighborhood, with houses, more like cottages, nestled back behind gardens and green, luscious yards. Behind the houses, Oliver could see a gleaming lake. Some houses had different colored panels, like yellow or pink. Oliver had never seen a pink house before. He pulled up to Felicity's house. It was a light grey house with white shutters. It was very cosy, with a brick chimney and white picket fence. Most of the yard had been converted into a large garden. Oliver had never seen so many different kinds of flowers. The house had a small porch on the front that was fenced in. And if the scene couldn't get any more perfect, a white lab was laying, belly up, on the porch.

Oliver pulled up into the driveway and pulled his and Felicity's bags from the car. He let himself into the gate and pulled out the key Felicity had given him. The key had a heart drawn on it that Oliver had not noticed before.

As he approached the front door, the dog snapped awake and greeted Oliver with a wagging tail.

"Yea, some guard dog you are." Oliver said, but leaned down to give the dog a good pat on the head.

Inside the house was just as cosy as the outside. In the living room there was a big fireplace, with family pictures scattered everywhere. Oliver wanted to look around, to see were Felicity grew up, but forced himself to focus. He set the bags down by the door and dialed Dig on his cell.

"Hello?"

"Its me. I need you to pull up Crowley's cell phone tracker. Felicity left instructions by the computer."

"Right, ok. How is Felicity doing by the way?"

"Not so good. She cried and hugged me."

There was silence on the other line.

"You hugged someone?"

"I'm not a robot, Dig. I am capable of human emotions."

Diggle snorted. "Yea, so you say."

"Did you find him yet?"

"Yea, he's at North St. and Amerheist Blv. 78th floor of the Starling International Bloomville location. I sent the coordinates to your phone. Are you suited up?

"It's in the middle of the day. I'll simply be an interested buyer, until I see that Crowley is with the thief."

"And how will you identify the thief?"

"We've met before." Oliver said, a definite edge to his voice.

There was silence on the other end as it dawned on Diggle who had shot Felicity's father.

"Deadshot."


	5. Chapter 5

Deadshot, aka Floyd Lawton, had been stirring up trouble in Starling City ever since Oliver had returned from the island. After Diggle had joined Oliver's cause, he had discovered that Dig's brother had been murdered by Lawton.  
"Oliver, why didn't you tell me sooner? I would have been there an hour ago." said Diggle.  
"Because I didn't realize who it was until ten minutes ago. Besides, I don't want this mission to be emotionally compromised."  
"You don't think you're already emotionally compromised? You're telling me you don't care about Felicity and what this _murder_ did to her family?"  
Oliver could hear Diggle's voice shake with anger.  
"I have restraint that you don't. I have the ability to put emotions aside and focus on what needs to be done. Can you honestly tell me that you could control your emotions in order to take Lawton alive?" He waited a second, and when all he heard was silence on the other line, he continued. "I didn't think so. I will call you when I have confirmed Lawton is here." He snapped the phone shut. He knew that he was emotionally compromised, just as Dig was, but he hoped he had the restraint. And if he didn't, then he really didn't want Dig there to see what he was capable of.  
Oliver sat down at the Smoak's kitchen table and pulled out his laptop, mentally forming a plan. Luckily, Starling International had sent a proposal to Queen Industries just a week ago. They wanted to partner to create a new line of bulletproof vests that were created with a diamond-coated plastic wear. The proposal said it could even stop direct knife attacks. Gemologists at Starling International had apparently found a way to liquidize diamonds and form them around a plastic model, making it impenetrable. Oliver would pretend to inquire about information, but would sneak up to the 78th floor where Crowley's office was. If he could confirm that Lawton was in the building, he would place a tracker on his person and find him tonight. Hopefully, everything would go according to plan.  
He pulled his mildly crinkled suit from his bag and dressed quickly. He opened up the back of his watch and put the tracker in the back. If Starling International had X-Ray security measures at the front, which it most likely did, they would not be able to see the tracker through his watch walls, which were laced with led.

He arrived in front of Starling International approximately 10 minutes later. On the way over, he had called Felicity to check how her father was doing. She said there was no change. He dropped his car off at valet and walked up to the greeting desk.  
"Hello! Welcome to Starling International. How may I direct you?" A perky women said, smiling. Oliver returned the smile.  
"Hello, I'm here to see Mr. Crowley."  
The women looked up at him suspiciously and said, "I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Crowley isn't taking any more meetings today."  
"Well, maybe you could tell him that Oliver Queen is here to see him? It's sort of an unexpected visit."  
The women looked surprised when she heard his name.  
"Sure thing, Mr. Queen. Sorry about that." The secretary said, looking slightly embarrassed as she dialed a number on the phone.  
"Hello, I have a Mr. Queen for Mr. Crowley." She said. She promptly set the phone down and smiled.  
"Alright, you can head up to the 78th floor where Mr. Crowley and his associates will be waiting for you."  
"Thank you." Oliver said, and he headed towards the elevators.  
By the time he reached the 78th floor, Oliver had taken his watch apart, grabbed the tracker, and put it back together again. He was hoping to catch a glimpse of Lawton and tag him.  
The elevator doors open. He walked past the empty secretary seat and walked unto the open doors leading to Crowley's office, but he didn't enter. Instead, he peered around the corner, out of site, hoping to hear what they were talking about. There was one man standing behind the desk, and another sitting in front of it.  
"You have to take care of that last security guard. If he saw your face-"  
"I can assure you, Mr. Crowley, that I will personally see to it." Lawton sneered.  
"I want you to take the gem to the safe house and I will meet you and the buyers there after my meeting with Mr. Queen."  
"Mr. Queen?" Lawton questioned.  
"Yea. I had no idea that spoiled brat was popping in for a meeting today. I hated his father, and I hate the brat too. I wasn't expecting him to stop by today."  
"Mr. Queen!" a voice behind Oliver said. He turned to see that the secretary had returned, and was looking at him with a puzzled look on his face. Crowley and Lawton heard the commotion, and came out to see what was going on.  
"Sorry, I was just waiting for their meeting to be over. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to go in or not since no one was here." He said, smiling his best Queen smile.  
Crowley and Lawton eyed him suspiciously, but Crowley motioned for him to enter the office.  
"Hello Mr. Queen. Have you been waiting long?" Crowley asked, shaking hands with Oliver.  
"Nope. I just got here." Oliver could tell Crowley was trying to judge how much he had heard.  
Crowley nodded to Lawton, who disappeared from the room. He then gestured to Oliver to sit where Lawton had previously been sitting.  
"So Mr. Queen. This was quite an unexpected visit."  
"Mr. Queen is my father. You can call me Oliver. And yes, sorry this meeting was so last minute."  
"It's fine, Oliver." Crowley said, looking at something behind him. Oliver heard another person enter the room, and from the sound made from the zipper on their boots, he concluded that it was Lawton. He walked over and stood right behind Oliver's chair.  
"How long we're you standing there, Mr. Queen?" Crowley asked, looking impatient. "What did you hear?"  
"Nothing, Sir." Oliver said, looking innocent.  
Crowley sighed. "Take care of this, Lawton. I have a business meeting." Crowley walked out of the room and shut the door behind him.  
"Take care of what?" Oliver asked, standing to face Lawton.  
Lawton reached for his side, but Oliver moved quicker. He grabbed onto the chair, and swung his legs around, connect his right heel with Lawton's face. Lawton's stumbled back, taken by surprised.  
"Where'd you learn to fight like that, Mr. Queen?" Lawton sneered, wiping blood from his lip. "What happened to you on that island?"  
"I hate when people ask me that question." Oliver said, walking towards Lawson. Before Lawson knew what had hit him, Oliver's fist connected with his jaw and he saw stars. Lawton recovered quickly, and pulled his gun, aiming for Oliver. Oliver ducked his head and had barely barrel rolled behind Crowleys desk before hearing shots. He spotted a letter opener on a shelf close to him. He waited for Lawton to reload, grabbed the letter opener, and simultaneously turned around and flung the letter opener at Lawton with the speed of one of his arrows. Like Oliver planned, the letter opener buried into Lawton's chest, right above his heart. Lawton fell backwards, and slid to the ground against the wall. He left a smear of blood behind him.  
Oliver straightened up, fixed his tie, and started rummaging through Crowley's desk, searching for the jewel that would tie him to the bank robbery and three homicides.  
After searching each drawer, he slowly walked over to Lawton. If he had learned one thing from Lawton, it was people were rarely dead when he thought they were. He prodded Lawton in the chest a few times. When he got no response, he started searching Lawton's pockets. Suddenly, Oliver felt a burning on his chest- so bad he thought he might be on fire. He looked down to see a six inch rip in his shirt and a dagger- no a letter opener- buried his chest.


	6. Chapter 6

Suddenly, Oliver felt a burning on his chest- so bad he thought he might be on fire. He looked down to see a six inch rip in his shirt and a dagger- no a letter opener- buried his chest.

Lawton laughed, blood dripping from his mouth, before his head slammed back to the ground and his eyes rolled back into his head. Oliver staggered backwards, pain surging throughout his body. He pulled the letter opener out as flashbacks from the island filled his head. He grunted in pain as the wound began to throb; hot, sticky blood rolled down his stomach. There were three things he was sure of: 1. He needed a first aid kit and 2. Lawton was unconscious and 3. There was no jewel in the room.  
He needed to focus if he wanted to survive. So, he staggered over to Lawton. Oliver grabbed Lawton's cell out of his pocket and dragged him into a closet. He dialed 911.  
"911 how may I help you!"  
Oliver talked frantically, "there's been an attack at Starling International, 78th floor. Some madman broke into the office and threatened me. He said his name was Floyd Lawson. My coworker surprised him and knocked him out. Help please! He's in the closet and we don't know what to do!" Oliver said, then hung up. Hopefully, Crowley never used that closet. Then, he moved the cabinet over 6 inches to hide the blood smear. Next, he grabbed Lawton's wallet and pulled his license out and placed it on Lawton's chest. Finally, he stood up straight, buttoned his suit jacket to hide his cut, and walked out of the office.

By the time Oliver had returned to his car,he could hear the sirens getting closer. He drove out of the parking lot, but had to pull over to allow the emergency vehicles pass. The cut on his chest had soaked blood through his shirt and tie and was leaking onto the leather seats. He felt drowsy. It must have been deeper than he thought. He barely heard the radio say that officials found nothing suspicious on the 78th floor, even after checking all closets. "God dammit!" Oliver yelled, smashing his hands against the steering wheel. He couldn't believe that Lawton got away with those level of injuries. Either Crowley found him before the cops got there, or. . . Lawton had a man inside the police.  
He parked in street and was relieved to see that Felicity and Sam weren't back yet.  
He stumbled into the house, clutching his chest to stop the bleeding. The dog was passed out on the couch where Oliver would be sleeping tonight.  
He found a bathroom upstairs and quickly shut the door behind him. He ripped of his suit jacket and tie. He carefully peeled his shirt away from the cut, gritting his teeth. He examined the gaping wound on his chest. He had certainly had worse, but this one was deep and about 5 inches jagged across his chest. He had no doubt it would leave a scar, with or without stitches. He searched the medicine cabinet behind the mirror and found rubbing alcohol and a needle. He raced downstairs, nearly falling, and grabbed his medical thread from his first aid kit that Dig made him.

Sewing his wound together was a painstakingly slow process and reminded Oliver of torture. By the time Oliver finished, he feared he might pass out because of blood loss. But he couldn't sleep yet. He need to clean the bathroom, where blood had dripped into the sink and onto the floor. And he needed to shower and clean the jeep. So, grabbed a towel and cleaned the bathroom, ran outside to wipe down the jeep and hopped in the shower.

Twenty minutes later, Sam and Felicity pulled into the garage.  
"Wow, Dad really kept up moms garden! This looks incredible!" Felicity said , leaning down to smell a tulip.  
"Zeus!" She exclaimed as the dog ran towards her, tail wagging furiously.  
They entered the house and Felicity noticed at once that Oliver had left his first aid kit sitting on top of his bags. She walked over, pretending to grab her bag, and shoved the first aid kit back inside Oliver's bag.  
"Sounds like _Ollie_ is taking a shower." Sam said, making a face.  
Felicity rolled her eyes, but inside she was worried about Oliver. Why had he needed his first aid kit?  
"I'm gonna go put my clothes away and check out my room." Felicity said, walking up the stairs.  
She set her bags down on the floor before walking towards the bathroom. She noticed the shower wasn't running anymore. She lifted her hand up to knock, when suddenly the door swung open, and Oliver collided with Felicity. Felicity crashed backwards, tying to regain her balance in vain. At the last minute, Oliver caught her, but, because of his weak state, they both ended up falling to the ground. It took Felicity a second to realize that the reason she couldn't breath was because 200 pounds of muscle were laying on top of her.  
"Oh my god" Felicity squeaked. "Get off me! You're so hard!" Felicity realized too late what she had said.  
Oliver rolled off her, grimacing in pain.  
"Not like your, you know . . . Just you in general, like your muscles and bones and organs. Not that organ, just other organs. Like your liver, which I've heard is hard as a rock. Ok, I'm just gonna stop saying the word hard... Ugh,now I'm all wet!" again, Felicity realized too late. "Ugh, why do you do this to me, brain!" She rambled, standing up and brushing her pants off. Oliver remained on the floor for a second, before struggling into an upright position.  
"Are you ok? I didn't realize you were home yet." He quickly made sure his towel was still securely tightened around his midriff.  
"Fine, just extremely embarrassed. " Felicity noticed the roughly cut piece of padding that Oliver had taped on his chest.  
"What the-" Felicity started, but Oliver put his hand over her mouth and nodded towards the stairs, where they could hear Sam walking up.  
Felicity grabbed Oliver by the wrist and led him into a room. She shut the locked the door behind her and turned on the light.  
Sam knocked on the door.  
"Filly? You okay? I thought I heard something."  
"Yup! " Felicity shouted back. "Just showing Oliver my comic book collection. Be down soon!"  
"I'm going to go pick up pizza. Be back in a minute."  
"Whatever! I mean, sounds good!" Felicity yelled back through the door, her voice a few octaves higher than normal.  
Oliver could swear he heard Sam mumble something that sounded like "comic books my ass", but he couldn't be sure.  
"What happened!" Felicity whisper-shouted.  
Oliver walked over to the bed in the corner and sat down. He liked Felicity's room a lot. The walls were a soft yellow and her bed was blanketed with a home made quilt, from the look of it. She did indeed have a large bookshelf filled with different graphic novels, as well as very old looking books. In one corner, there was a small tv with a game system hooked up, and video games neatly set against the wall. On her desk was a large desktop computer. On the wall were posters of boy bands that Oliver suspected she liked as teen and pictures of a woman he presumed was her mother.  
"I like your room." Oliver said, still looking around. He was surprised to notice a blush working its way up Felicity's cheek.  
"I've never had a boy in this room that wasn't my brother or his friends." She said, her blush deepening. Oliver chuckled a little, and then sobered up.  
"How is your father?"  
"First tell me what happened, and then we can have this conversation when you are fully clothed. I heard there was some incident at Starling International on the radio."  
"He got away."  
Felicity put her hand to her temple, trying not to get frustrated.  
"Use your words like a big boy, Oliver. Who got away? Crowley?"  
"Deadshot. Crowley hired him to take down the security guards and get the item. Crowley left Lawson to kill me. He wasn't expecting Oliver Queen to have martial arts skills. But I couldn't find the jewel. So I left him there in a closet for the police to find, after I placed an anonymous call. The police got there in under 8 minutes, but Lawton was gone. I - I thought with those injuries he would be immobilized. But, I guess not. And me and the Hood being in Bloomville at the same time would definitely stir up some unwanted attention, so I had to leave," Oliver finished, looking down at the floor.  
"Oh." Felicity said, turning to unlock the door so that Oliver wouldn't see the disappointment on her face. She knew she shouldn't be disappointed, Oliver clearly tried his hardest and was injured, but she had hoped this would all be over with soon. She felt hot tears run spill down her cheek.  
She went to open the door, but she felt Oliver's hand clamp down over hers. She turned around and came face to face with him.  
"Felicity, I'm so sorry I didn't catch him."  
She swore she saw his eyes look watery for a second, but then he blinked and it was gone.  
"It's ok-"  
"No, it's not. I_ am_ going to get him, I am."  
Felicity wondered if he was trying to assure both of them.  
"I-I just want this all to be over with." Felicity said, wiping hot tears from her cheek.  
Oliver put one hand on her shoulder, and caught a tear that Felicity missed.  
They stared into one another's eyes for a moment, but Oliver turned away, clearing his throat, and the moment was over.  
"He doesn't stand a chance." He said, and he left the room to go get dressed.

Felicity came downstairs 5 minutes to find Oliver dressed in a pair of jeans and a light sweater. He turned to face her as she entered the kitchen.  
"So, how is you're father?"  
"The doctors said his vitals looked better, but they aren't sure when... or if he'll wake up from the coma."  
"You know, I'm family friends with the leading top Cardiovascular Surgeon in America. I could call in a favor if you want. I'm sure he would be happy to-"  
"Oliver," Felicity interrupted, "my dads surgeon is perfectly fine. Besides, there's no way we could afford that."  
"Felicity, you know that I could cover the co-"  
"No," Felicity interrupted again, "I think our surgeon is good. But thanks for offering. How are you feeling?"  
"Fine," Oliver said. But Felicity noticed that as he stood up, he winced in pain.  
"You know I have some Motrin or Tylenol you're welcome to have." Felicity said, walking over to a cabinet.  
"Unless you have baby aspirin, I'm not allowed to have any." Oliver said, settling on the couch next to a curled up Zeus.  
Felicity walked around the couch and sat on a chair by the fire. "Why?"  
"I just can't." When Felicity gave him a look, he sighed, "When I came back, they were worried about infections from my burns. So I'm on an anti-inflammatory. They also found a bit of skin cancer on me- no suntan location on the island- so I'm on steroids for that. And then just a few other things..." Oliver trailed off as Zeus moved so he was laying on top of Oliver's lap. For the first time, Felicity had an overwhelming urge to ask what had happened to Oliver on the island. But she bit her tongue. If Oliver wanted to tell her, he would on his own time. He probably had enough people asking- he didn't need Felicity asking. Instead, she said, "Want to play x-box?"

When Sam returned home, he found Felicity teaching Oliver how to play Batman: Arkham Asylum.  
"Punch! I mean, X! X! Oliver, hit X!" Felicity was shouting.  
"I am! Wait, which one is X?" He shouted back. The batman on the screen was electrified and killed. Oliver threw the controller down.  
"Fighting in real life is so much easier. Living on that island was easier!" He said, clearly angry about the game.  
"Yea, well, you're not on an island. You're in an asylum." She said. "Probably where you should be in real life" she muttered, and grabbed the controller from where Oliver had put it.  
"Excuse me? I'm definitely more sane than you! Mrs. 'My Brain Thinks of the Worst Way to Say Things!'" He tried to grab the controller back.  
Felicity blushed, but fought back.  
"You shouldn't be making fun of me, Mr. Queen. After all, you have the technological intelligence of a 98 year old man. You would die without me!" She teased back, still struggling against him for the controller.  
"It's called being technologically challenged, and it's an actual problem. 1 out of 15 Americans suffer from it." Oliver deadpanned, and, before Oliver knew what had happened, he was falling backwards, controller in his hand. Felicity had let go of the controller and watch in amusement as he caught his breath on the ground.  
"Nice one Felicity." Oliver said, coughing and laughing at the same time. "Way to beat on an crippled man."  
"Crippled? Come on, that six inch gash ain't nothing," Felicity said, laughing and helping Oliver up.  
"Six inch gash?" Sam asked, walking in and setting the pizza down.  
Both Oliver and Felicity jumped  
"Sam! I-we didn't hear you come in!" Felicity said.  
"That smells delicious! " Oliver said, smiling and walking towards Sam. "Do you need help carrying anything in?"  
"Naw, I got it. One veggie with extra pineapple for Felicity and one meat lovers for me. I wasn't sure what you liked Oliver."  
"'Meat lovers for me, please," he said, rubbing his stomach.  
"So what was that about a 6 inch gash?" Sam asked again, clearly not letting it go.  
"I had a run in with a knife the other day. You know what they say about holding scissors? Well apparently I never learned that." Oliver said in a laughing tone.  
"Oh, gotcha. So Filly! Tell me all about you're life! We haven't talked in a while!"  
"There's not really much to tell." Felicity said through a mouthful of pizza.  
"Come on! Any boys?" Sam asked.  
Felicity nearly choked on her pizza. Oliver gave her a couple pats on the back before she spoke again.  
"No, not really." She said, avoiding Oliver's gaze at all costs.

**A/N Hey guys! That was my longest chapter so far! I hope you all like it. Keep reviewing! Thanks for reading! **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hi everyone! Sorry it took me so long to up load. I had finals :( But here's chapter 7. I hope you all enjoy! Dont forget to review please :) Unfortunately, I think there is only going to be two more chapters for this story, maybe three. But I do have plans for a sequel. Anyways, enjoy!Oh, btw, who else is having major Arrow withdrawals? I cannot WAIT for season 2! **

**xx**

After dinner, Felicity and Oliver sat out on the back porch, discussing their plans for tonight. When Oliver heard Sam open a window near them, he motioned for Felicity to stop discussing her hacking abilities. There was a moment of awkward silence before either one of them could think of something to say. _I guess all we usually talk about is work_ Oliver thought to himself.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here," Oliver said. He noticed how Felicity's hair shined in the sunlight. This light was very flattering on her face, and her eyes were a startling blue. Suddenly, Oliver had the urge to lean in a brush a strand of her hair back behind her ear. He found himself leaning closer, and quickly stopped himself and cleared his throat.

"Mhmm." Felicity said, distracted. She was staring off into the distance, across the lake. Oliver was grateful she hadn't noticed how focused he was on her. He also noticed she wasn't wearing any of her bright lipgloss. Even without the bright color, her lips looked. . . delicious. Oliver quickly pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind. He forced himself to look away from Felicity, frowning slightly. _Where were these overwhelming romantic thoughts coming from? How come I had the overwhelming urge to kiss her? No, I love Laruel. _He was just tired.

"It must have been fun growing up here." Oliver said quietly, taking in the crystal clear water, the modest dock and a row boat. At the end of the dock was a small speed boat.

"It was pretty great. We spent all our summer nights out on the boat. We're all pretty champion skiers." Felicity laughed. "But growing up your home must have been awesome. I bet you guys had some pretty epic games of hide and seek."  
Oliver smiled. Felicity always chose to see the best of things.

"Yea, but it wasn't really a home, per say. It was more of a. . . manor. It was far too big for only four people. We hardly ever saw one another. But on the up side, I did find a new room like every day." Oliver laughed. Felicity looked up at him, a smile on her face. Their eyes met and Felicity found herself getting lost in Oliver's deep green eyes. Felicity felt her heart stop beating. Was Oliver leaning towards her, or was it her imagination? Sure, she fantasized about kissing Oliver. _I mean, who wouldn't? He only paraded around half naked all the time. And that leather suit? Well, it sure doesn't leaving much to the imagination,_ Felicity mused. Felicity was the one to break the connection. She turned away from Oliver, trying to hide the obvious blush that had worked its way up her face.  
"I'm . . . ah. . . going to go take a cold shower. I mean, just a shower. Not cold or hot, just . . ." Felicity gulped, "lukewarm."

She left Oliver and raced into the house, mentally cursing herself. She was definitely crazy. _Why would Oliver Queen, rocking body, drop-dead gorgeous looks, charming attitude, killer instincts, want to be with ,me, awkward and geeky Felicity Smoak, who can't form a normal sentence around him? Yup, definitely crazy. _

That night, while Sam slept, Felicity pulled up the GPS tracker from Crowley's smartphone. Meanwhile, Oliver slid into his leather jacket and pants. He carefully pulled out his new, foldable bow and his quiver. He was re-stringing his bow when Felicity came down the stairs, laptop in hand. Oliver was momentarily amused to see that she had changed into her pjs, consisting of a set of pink and white stripped flannel pajamas and Spiderman slippers. He noticed that she had showered, and her hair hung in damp ringlets. She was also wearing no make-up, and Oliver found himself thinking that she was more beautiful in her natural state. _What is happening to me? Why am I checking out Felicity?_ Oliver made himself focus on the job.

"Where's Crowley?" Oliver said, testing his handwork. He nocked an arrow and aimed it at nothing in particular. The restraint was good, there was a little less weight on the string than he was used to, which meant there wouldn't be as much force behind the arrow. Before he began his hunt, he would need to adjust the sights. In case he was distracted, he wanted to be able to shoot without taking the time to aim.

"Whoa, careful where you are pointing that thing," Felicity said, shying away from the direction he was aiming. Oliver rolled his eyes, but carefully relaxed the strings, and snatched the arrow out of the bow.

"Where's Crowley, Felicity?" Oliver asked again, strapping on his quiver.

"At his hotel. At least, that's what his phone says. But I took a peek at hotel billing records and the cameras, and both confirm that Crowley is staying there. Room 664, Four Weather's hotel." She sat the laptop down on the kitchen table and gestured for Oliver to look. He walked over and saw a video showing a long hallway. "That's the live stream outside Crowley's door. He walked in with three guards." She pointed to a man on the screen. "That's the first, and I presume that there are two more on the inside."

"Was there any sign of Lawton on the video footage?" Oliver asked, deeply impressed with Felicity's remarkable skills.

Felicity shook her head. "Not that I saw. One of the guards did have a limp, though. But a hat was covering his face."

"Can you check video camera's from across the street? Maybe there's another that captured an image of them getting out of the car. I need to know what I'm up against." Oliver said, ignoring the twinge of pain in his chest.

"Right, good idea. So," Felicity's fingers flew across the keyboard with lightening speed, "There is a CVS pharmacy and an ATM across the street. I'm pulling up both video streams now."

"How long will it take?" Oliver asked, handing Felicity an ear piece and heading towards the door.

"Five minutes. I'll let you know when I pull it up. I already programmed the location into your GPS, by the way." Felicity said as she heard the car door slam shut. Oliver imagined her with one eyebrow raised. She always thought of everything. _What would I do without her?_ He mused to himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey lovelies! Finally, the Olicity comes out in this chapter! I hope you enjoy :) **

Exactly five minutes later, as Oliver was pulling into the city, Felicity's voice rang out in his ear.

"So I can confirm it's Lawton. ATM video feed showed him stepping out of the car and the FBI criminal database confirmed facial recognition. But he was limping really bad and clutching his chest when he got out of the car. He probably won't be too much of a problem."

Oliver didn't respond. He learned the hard way to never underestimate Lawton's abilities. He pulled the jeep behind the hotel in an alley way presumably used for garbage pick-up. The building on the opposite side of the alley had a fire escape and just as many floors. The sixth floor suite that Crowley was in, luckily, had a balcony. It would be easy for Oliver to swing from the fire escape to the balcony. He dug through a bag in the back seat and pulled out an arrow that had a claw on one end and a string on another. Oliver scaled the fire escape quickly and aimed his grapple arrow for the sixth floor. He could swing in and take down the guards, quietly he hoped. He did not want to alert other hotel guests. He wanted to be in and out, fast and clean.

"Hey Oliver, do you think we should wait for Diggle, you know, because of the promise you made him?" Felicity said quietly. Oliver remembered the conversation he and Diggle had, discussing whether Diggle wanted Lawton alive or not.

"I called Diggle earlier and told him not to come. Because of Lawton's outstanding warrant in Starling City, they'll send him there to do time. If Diggle decides he wants Lawton dead, we can carry out the hit."

Felicity nodded, then, realizing that Oliver couldn't see her, said, "Ok."

"Felicity, when I tell you to, I want you to cut power to the hotel. I have a frequency jammer, so we might lose contact. I don't want the guard outside to know when I'm inside the room. I'll handle him after."

Oliver heard the sound of Felicity's finger's flying across the keyboard again.

"Can you do that?" Oliver asked when he heard no response.

"Uh-huh." Felicity replied, "Just give me a secon- yup. I'm ready whenever you are."

Oliver grabbed made sure his grip was strong on the grapple. When he raised his hands over his head, he felt the stitches resist. He winced as they began to tear. He pushed the pain aside. _Pain could be dealt with later. Pain is weakness leaving the body._ He took a deep breath, breathed "Now." to Felicity. Her heard her gulp, press a key on the computer and watched the power go out. "I'm hitting the jammer now." He said to her, and then jumped from the fire escape.

Felicity heard a click, and then static. She took a deep, shaky breath and closed her computer. All she could do now is wait.

Oliver landed on the sixth floor balcony with little trouble. He had felt his stitches rip on his way across, but the adrenalin rushing through his system prevented him from feeling the pain. Before anyone inside the room could notice him, he nocked an arrow, aimed at one of the guards holding a flashlight, and released. The glass shattered and his arrow hit his mark. Oliver quickly surveyed the room. Crowley was cowering in a corner, cell phone out. Oliver released another arrow and pinned the phone to the wall, barely grazing Crowley's hand. The other guard, whom turned with a limp, Oliver recognized as Lawton. Lawton had already pulled his gun, but Oliver jumped into the room, barrel rolled towards Crowley. He paused behind a thick arm chair. Bullets ripped through the material, missing Oliver by millimeters. He waited for Lawton to pause for a reload. He jumped up, and placed an arrow right in Lawton's hand that was holding the gun. He screamed and slumped forward. By now, the third guard had been alerted and was entering the room, gun raised. Oliver easily moved throughout the room, sticking to the shadows. Before the guard knew what was happening, Oliver was right behind him. With one brain-rattling punch, the guard was out. Oliver walked over to Lawton, ignoring Crowley's whimpering.

Lawton was holding his hand trying to stop the bleeding, his teeth gritted.

"Where's the jewel, Lawton?" The hood demanded, raising another arrow. Oliver saw Lawton's other hand move towards his belt, saw the bulge of a gun, and released an arrow. It tore through Lawton's other hand, and he screamed again, blood streaming onto the carpet. But Oliver had no empathy for this murderer.

"Where is it?" Oliver demanded, nocking another arrow.

"You'll never get it out of me," Lawton spat.

"Fine." Oliver said. He lifted his bow and struck Lawton, relieving him of his consciousness before turning to Crowley.

"Steve Crowley, you have failed this city." Oliver said, pulling tight another arrow.

"Wh-What do y-you want?" Crowley stammered.

"Where is the jewel?"

Crowley lifted one shaking hand and and pointed to a picture on the opposite side of the room.

"Safe." he whispered, sweat dripping down is forehead.

After grabbing a rope and tying Lawton and Crowley together, back to back, Oliver slowly walked over to the painting. It slid aside easily to reveal a regular hotel safe with a four digit number.

"Number?" Oliver demanded.

"3,4,7, 6."

Oliver entered the numbers and tried to open the safe. Nothing happened. He turned to Crowley.

"Really. What are the numbers?"

"3,4,7,6!" Crowley said again, looking confused. He tried again. No luck. Seriously? This man was messing him right now?

"Tell me the number, NOW." Oliver said, aiming an arrow at Crowley.

"I swear to God, its 3, 4, 7, 6!"

"Right now, God's not here. So swear to me!" The hood yelled, walking towards Crowley. He was about to release the arrow when he heard Lawton sneer,

"I changed it in case the little weasel didn't have enough courage to stand up to you."

"If you stand up to me, it's not courage. It's stupidity." Oliver said, walking to face Lawton.

"What will you do for me if I tell you?" Lawton said.

"I don't have to give you anything." growled Oliver. He reached into a quiver and pulled out one of his explosive arrows. He had preferred not to use it, it would attract a lot of unwanted attention, but he pulled it out nonetheless. He aimed for the safe and let the arrow glide easily into place. He released it and it soared through the air, exploding as soon as it hit the safe. Just as Oliver was reaching into the vault, he heard the door burst open.

"This is the Police! Lay your weapons down and put your hands up!" Oliver grabbed the jewel, threw it to one of the incoming cops, and leapt out the window onto the balcony. He didn't think, he just jumped as bullets sprayed behind him. He barley grabbed ahold of the railing on the opposite building. Grimacing, he pulled himself over and raced down the fire escape. He opened the door to the jeep. He was panting heavily, his chest had ripped open, but all he felt was an overwhelming satisfaction and excitement. He pulled off his hood, revealing the black t-shirt underneath, and rolled the window's down. Before pulling away, he stopped the frequency jammer. He heard the click and Felicity and Oliver were connected again.

"Felicity? I got them." Oliver said as he tore through the streets.

He heard Felicity let out a sigh of relief. "I never doubted you, boss." She responded, and Oliver smiled, also relieved.

"See you in 20." Oliver said, switching off the earpiece and on the music.

Halfway home, he dialed Diggle's number. It rang three times before answering.

"Oliver? It's four o'clock in the morning." Diggle said, yawning slightly.

"The police have Crowley and Lawton in custody. I overheard on the police radio that they'll be transferring him to Starling Police because of his arrest warrant there. I think the hood can get him out... if you want." Oliver said, remembering his promise that Diggle would have his revenge. He heard Diggle sigh.

"I. . . I have to think about it. Where are you?"

"On my way back to see Felicity."

"How's she doing?"

"She's been good, really calm throughout all of this. I'm . . .really glad we brought her onto the team."

"Oliver, you are an idiot. You need to stop beating around the bush and be a man. Kiss her, for Gods sake," Diggle said suddenly.

"What?!" Oliver yelled.

"Think about it. It's pretty obvious you two are into one another. I mean, honestly man. You have to be blind not to see it! Use that big brain of yours. You've know Laurel your _entire_ life. You've _loved_ her your entire life. You met Felicity four, maybe five times before you got shot. Why do you think you went to Felicity, and not Laurel? You don't trust Laurel man, and you don't love her anymore. Anyone with eyes can see that. Besides, that girl is obviously smitten with you."

Oliver was silent, contemplating. Finally, he smiled.

"I think you've been spending too much time with Carly. I didn't know you had such an. . . intuitive side, Dig. And I certainly didn't know "smitten" was in your vocabulary." Oliver said, laughing.

Diggle laughed, and said goodnight.

When he pulled up into the driveway, the sun was already rising. He had brought a change of clothes, just incase Sam was awake. As he parked the car and walked up to the front porch, the door swung open and Felicity came walking, more like running, out. She walked up to Oliver and stopped a foot from him.

"I can't thank you enough, Oliver." Felicity said, looking him right in the eye.

"You don't have to thank me. I should be apologizing to you." Oliver said quietly. "If I had only killed Lawton before, none of this would have happe-"

"Hey, don't you dare do that to yourself," Felicity interrupted, putting her hands on her hips and looking stern. "If it wasn't Lawton, Crowley would have just hired another deadbeat murder. You know that. You have nothing to be sorry for."

Oliver looked at Felicity, as if seeing her in a new light. He could see the fearlessness in her eyes, and something else too. Admiration? No. Kindness. This women had nothing but kindness in her heart and a crazy fearlessness in her soul. She was never afraid to challenge him, and he did not like to think about where he would be without her. She was funny, talented, and never ceased to surprise him. She was always there when he needed someone to talk to, or to not talk to. She was beautiful, not only her looks but her personality as well. She was. . . absolutely remarkable.

Finally, Oliver permitted himself to surrender the battle he had been fighting. He felt a rush of emotions towards Felicity, and, without thinking, he placed his hands on her back and pulled her towards him. As they stood, inches apart, he hesitate only for a second, before pressing his lips to hers. At first, he felt Felicity's surprise, but he was relieved when she relaxed and thrilled when he felt her hands run through his hair and down his neck. It took him a few seconds, but he finally forced himself to take a step back. He was delighted to hear Felicity sigh in disappointment when they parted. Then, he saw the color flood her face as she realized what had just happened.

"Oliver, I-"

"This whole weekend, well actually the last few months, I feel like whenever I'm around you, I'm more myself than when I'm around anyone else," Oliver admitted, "I don't have to hide who I am when I'm around you, and I've wanted to kiss you since, well, since we got off that plane." Oliver said, laughing slightly. "I like you, Felicity."

Felicity stared at him, as if in a trance. Finally, she said, "I like you a lot too." Oliver smiled and Felicity cringed. "Only, just now, you didn't say a lot. Good one, Felicity." The color in her cheeks darkened as she stared at the ground.

Oliver leaned in for another kiss, and she definitely did not resist this time. This one was deeper and more passionate, leaving both of them breathless. This kiss started slow, like the other, but quickly moved from tender to fervent, making Felicity feel like she was on fire. Oliver used every fiber in his being to stop himself from lifting her shirt up and exploring her. Everywhere time she touched him, her finger times left behind hot, tingling spots. Finally, Oliver pulled himself away. They both were panting slightly.

"I like kissing you," Felicity said, the two still inches apart.

"I like kissing you a lot too," Oliver said, and Felicity was pleased to see a true Oliver smile spread across his face.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Hello! I apologize this took so long! Life has been crazy. Anyways, I think there will only be one more chapter after this! Reviews are always appreciated! :)**

"Come on, lets go get some sleep." Oliver said, putting his arm around Felicity and heading inside. Felicity was still gawking at the turn of events. Oliver Queen, gorgeous, muscular, _Oliver Queen_, had picked her over all the other prospects. Her mind was still reeling and butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She had a crush on Oliver since the first day he walked in her door, but she never thought he would act on it. It was sort of a fantasy, but she never thought something would happen. She looked up at Oliver, who was grinning like she had never seen before. When they walked inside, Oliver headed off to the couch, pulling Felicity with him. She was surprised, but definitely did not resist.

"Before we sleep, I need you to help me with something." Oliver said, suddenly looking grim. He pulled up his shirt to reveal a bloody mess. Felicity gasped.

"God, Oliver. That looks horrible! Why didn't you tell me soon?" Felicity said, already reaching for the suture kit.

"I had some more important things to take care of," Oliver said, smiling at her. Felicity blushed and rolled her eyes.

She began by putting rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. Gently and quickly, she cleaned the wound, occasionally earning groans from Oliver. When it was fully cleaned, Felicity decided to just place some butterfly closures on it.

"Ok, done. You just have to not move a lot for the next couple days." Felicity said, putting the supplies away and washing her hands.

"Ok." Oliver said, stretching out on the couch.

However, instead of heading towards the stairs, Felicity walked over to the couch.

"Move over," she said. Oliver smiled up at her and obliged. Felicity laid down next to Oliver and wrapped her arms gingerly around his chest. In seconds, both had descended into a comfortable sleep.

**XXXX**

When Sam came down at 9:30, he found Felicity and Oliver asleep together on the couch. During their four hours of sleep, Felicity and Oliver had adjusted so they were laying back to front, cuddled together for warmth. Both of them were sound asleep. At the sound of Sam approaching, Oliver eyes snapped open and focused groggily on Sam. Oliver slowly sat up after realizing the position he and Felicity were in and moved carefully off the couch, trying not to wake her.

"I'm so sorry. I did not mean to disrespect your home in anyway, especially after you so generously let me stay here," Oliver said to Sam as they walked away from the still sleeping Felicity.

"Oliver, relax." Sam lead Oliver through the house out to the back porch. The sun had risen and the sky was a beautiful blue and pink. The lake shined in the sunlight and Oliver had never seen such a beautiful sight. _Except for Felicity, obviously. _"I haven't seen my sister this happy in a long time. Ever since she moved away, I know she misses home. Don't get me wrong, she loves her job at Queen Consolidated, but it was hard for her to be so far away from home." Sam paused, staring at the water, before continuing, " I . . . think she always regretted moving away. Before my mother left, she always used to say, "Home is where the heart is," and I think that stuck with Felicity. But these last couple of months, whenever she called home, I could tell she was happier. There was more. . . energy in her voice. I knew she had found someone, I just didn't know who." Sam said, staring down at the lake. Oliver didn't say anything. He just listened.

"So, this is my roundabout way of saying that I can tell that it's been doing a lot of good for Felicity to have you in her life these last few months. But, if you hurt her, I will hunt you down." Sam said with a straight face.

"If that ever happens, which I don't foresee, I will deserve it." Oliver said. He didn't want to tell Sam that they had only gotten together last night. Oliver thought that Sam would not appreciate it. Besides, he didn't want Felicity to have to lie to her brother for the hood.

Suddenly, Felicity burst through the door looking frazzled. Felicity had woken when Oliver got up, but she knew he and Sam had to talk. She had never gotten a better four hours of sleep in her life. She had pulled out her Windows 8 tablet and pulled up her twitter account, looking for something to do. She didn't "tweet" very often, but every now and then she couldn't resist the urge. She had been about to exit when she noticed something.

"Oliver, can I talk to you for a second?" she said.  
Oliver was once again dazzled by her beauty. Her eyes were so bright and beautiful, especially in the early morning light. Her hair was still down, and he marveled how it looked so perfect in the morning. And her lips. . . well he just wasn't going to go there. Suddenly, he realized he hadn't spoken in a while, and Felicity was looking at him with a amused look on her face. He cleared his throat.

"Uh, sorry. I'm just tired, you know, from not getting much sleep last night." Oliver cringed, realizing too late what he had said. Sam glared at him in disbelief. "Wait, no, not like that. Just because of. . . nightmares. Yea, that's why Felicity came downstairs. To," Oliver gulped, "Comfort me."

Sam just shook his head and walked inside the house, giving them some privacy.

"Oliver Queen, were you just, you know, babbling?" Felicity said, a broad smile across her face. Oliver laughed, rubbing the back of his neck before stepping towards her.

"What can I say, you make me nervous," He said.

Felicity stared at him in disbelief.

"Me?" she asked, pointing to herself, "I make you nervous? You're the one with the abs of Jesus."

"Jesus had abs?" Oliver said, inches away from her face. Felicity gulped.

"Well, I didn't know Jesus, like, personally. But if he did have abs, those are what they would-"

Oliver cut her off with a kiss. It was sweet and perfect, something that Felicity wouldn't mind doing for the rest of her life. He wrapped his arms around her and she obliged, her mind filling up with fog. She couldn't think about anything but keeping herself upright as her knees trembled. After what seemed like a couple seconds but was probably more like a minute, Felicity pulled away.

"Even though that was super. . . great, I did come out here to show you something." She said, slightly shaking her head to focus her thoughts. She pulled out her tablet and pulled up twitter. She showed it to Oliver and pointed to a box in the upper corner.

"What is this?" Oliver said, looking confused. "Why are there number signs everywhere?"  
Felicity sighed.  
"You really need to take some technology lessons. This is Twitter. Kinda like Facebook." When Oliver gave her a blank look, she continued "Right, anyways, read what that says." She pointed to something in a column labeled "Trending".

"Ol. . . Olic. . . Olicity?" Oliver finally said, getting it. "Is that a combination of our names?"

Felicity nodded and pulled up another web page. "Look, someone took pictures of us!" She said and handed it to Oliver.

There were pictures of them walking through the airport, Oliver's hand on Felicity's back, and getting into the car, walking into the hospital, Oliver hugging Felicity in her father's hospital room, and then finally them kissing this morning in her driveway. Most of the headlines read "Oliver Queen dates mystery women" or "Oliver Queen's Girlfriend's Name Revealed" or "Summer of Olicity"

"Olicity? Thats. . . not even clever." Oliver said, smiling. Felicity looked at him, confused.

"Why are you smiling? Everyone, I repeat, _everyone_, knows about . . . this!" Felicity said, pointing to Oliver and then to herself. Oliver shrugged.

"They were going to find out anyways." Oliver's head snapped up from the screen as something dawned on him. "You're okay with this, right? Like us being a couple?"

Felicity looked at him confused. Oliver continued,

"I mean, I know we only talked a little last night, but we didn't discuss whether you want a serious realtio-"  
Felicity interrupted him with her lips. She stood on the tips of her toes and moved from his lips to his ear.  
"You talk to much, _boyfriend_." She whispered. Oliver felt a shiver run down his spine as Felicity's breath brushed against his ear. He was about to respond when Sam rushed back out on the porch. Felicity sprung away from Oliver, turning to face her brother.

"Filly, Dad's awake!"

Felicity's breathing stopped and she dropped her laptop in shock. Luckily, Oliver snatched the laptop out of the air inches before it smashed to the ground.

**XXXX**

"Dad?" Felicity said quietly, grabbing her fathers hand. Oliver stood in the doorway, allowing the family some privacy. He watched as her father's eyes opened slowly and searched the room, looking for a face to go with a voice. Sam stood next to Felicity, staring intently down at their father.

"Felicity? What are you doing here?" Mr. Smoak's voice sound hoarse and quiet.

"Dad, I came home to make sure you were okay," Felicity said, and Oliver could hear her relief.

Realizing this was a private moment, Oliver turned and walked away, sitting on a bench not far from the room. His head swarmed with thoughts, of his father, Felicity's lips on his, the island. . .

What seemed like seconds later, someone was shaking him awake. He jumped awake, tensing up and ready to strike his attacker.

"Oliver, it's okay. It's just me," said a calming voice. Oliver blinked a couple of times and the world came into focus. He was staring into big blue eyes, surrounded by frames he instantly recognized as Felicity's glasses.

"Sorry, I must of dosed off," Oliver said, standing up.

"It's alright. We've been talking for ages, so I don't blame you," Felicity said, smiling.  
Ages? Confused, Oliver stared down at his watch. It was almost four in the afternoon, and they had arrived at ten. He had been asleep for 6 hours.

"Wow, sorry. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was," Oliver said, stretching and grimacing as his stitches protested.

"Oliver, it's fine. You caught Lawson and Crowley in one night. You never have to apologize,"

Oliver looked at her and saw that her eyes were rimmed with red.

"How's your father?" He asked as he pulled Felicity in for a hug. Felicity immediately felt safe nestled against Oliver's chest. It felt like they were in there own little world.

"Good," she said. She felt Oliver begin to pull away, but she just held on tighter. She felt his muscles tighten as he responded by also gripping her tighter and kissing the top of her head. She closed her eyes and sighed, memorizing his heart beat.

Too soon, Felicity forced herself to step away.

"He want's to meet you," she said, staring up at his deep green eyes.

**XXXX**

Oliver had never felt butterflies rise so quickly in his stomach before. After getting an encouraging look from Felicity, he entered Mr. Smoak's room and knocked quietly on the door.

"Mr. Smoak?" Oliver said, watching as Mr. Smoak's eyed him carefully.

"Please, come in. Oliver, right?"

"Yes, sir."

The two men shook hands and Oliver was surprised at Felicity's fathers strong grip. Clearly, this man was a fighter.

"How are you feeling Mr. Smaok?"

"Please, call me Tom. And much better, thank you. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to skip ahead past the small talk because it is very plausible that I will pass out soon. So, lets get right to it. What are your intentions with my daughter?"

Oliver gulped.

"Sir, to be honest, I knew I would end up with Felicity the first day I saw her," Oliver said, smiling at the memory. "I spilled a latte on my laptop and she gave me a ten minute long speech on respecting technology."

"Ten minutes? You got off easy," Tom laughed. Oliver smiled and continued,  
"Felicity is. . . remarkable. I knew it from the first moment I saw her. You've raised a very strong, independent woman, Tom, and even though this relationship is new, I have no doubt that we will have a future together for a long time. Felicity makes me a better man. She makes me so nervous and, sir, I am being completely honest when I say that she makes me ramble. I don't think I've ever babbled in my entire life before I met Felicity. And," Images flashed through Oliver's mind, all the times Felicity had ever patched him up or aided them on a case, and all the times she was there when no one else was, "I can't imagine my life without her,"

The room was silent, and Oliver momentarily thought he had said something wrong. Finally, Tom spoke,

"Well, Oliver, even a blind man could see that you obviously care for my daughter. I like you, and Felicity told me how much you've helped her through this, and for that I cannot thank you enough. However, if you ever hurt my daughter, in any way, I will find you,"

"Sir, I do not see that ever happening. But I think Felicity would destroy me before you even got close," Oliver said, laughing.

"And that's my cue," Felicity said, entering the room. Oliver spun around, surprised, He had no idea she had been standing there.  
"Did you just hear that whole conversation?" he asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist, making sure his hand was respectfully above her hip line.

"Yup, _everything_." She said, smiling innocently up at him.

Oliver couldn't help but smile back at her, as a nurse walked into the room.

"Hello Mr. Smoak, how are you feeling today?"  
"Tired, and sore. But otherwise, perfect." Tom said, and Oliver knew he was telling the truth. The nurse smiled and checked the medical chart.

"Well, Mr. Smaok, because you were in a coma, your injuries have had time to heal, so you shouldn't feel too much pain. Just some light physical therapy and you should be back to your old self in no time. You're very lucky."

Tom smiled as the nurse checked his IV and vitals.

"So when can he go home?" Felicity asked, her grip tightening on Oliver's hand. He responded buy pulling her closer.

"Well, based on your miraculous recovery, I would say a week? Maybe sooner, depending on how soon you can gather up your strength to walk."

"Really?" Tom said, a smile, much like Felicity's, spreading across his face.

"Sure, pending doctors decision!" The nurse said cheerfully.

Felicity and Oliver sat outside her father's room while Sam and her father talked privately.

"So, I think I'm going to stay here until my dad is ready to come home. You know, help my brother out a little."

Oliver nodded, smiling.  
" I wouldn't expect anything less."

"You're welcome to stay, if you want." Felicity said, suddenly seeming fascinated by her hands. Oliver grabbed her hand, trying to meet her eyes.

"Hey, look at me. Felicity, I would love to stay with you. But I need to go back,"  
"Right, for your family and everything,"  
"No, because I need to get Rowland. You know, the one guy actually on the list." Oliver said, laughing slightly. "I'll make him turn himself into the police and admit all the cases he's dismissed. Lawton is being tried for 58 different murders, thanks to his habit of tattooing his victims names onto his body. And Crowely is being tried for the aiding and embedding a thief and killing Tirler."  
Felicity smiled up at him.

"Well, you can always come back for my fathers coming home party. You can meet the entire family, if its not too soon."  
As Felicity's words hit Oliver's ears, he felt the urge to run awake inside him. He hadn't been in a serious relationship since he had gotten back, and he was terrified of hurting Felicity, of letting her down. However, Oliver knew that without Felicity, his life would be dull and meaningless. She made him. . . almost whole again. It was like she was quietly and secretly putting little pieces of him back together, like a broken doll, since she had joined the team.

Oliver looked down at her and grinned. All he had to do was look into her eyes and all qualms of being in a relationship were squashed.

"I would love to," He said, feeling happiness pulse through him like never before.


End file.
